Blame It On The Door
by thesecretcreature
Summary: Lizzie and Gordo somehow get locked in a basement after they broke up over something stupid. Will they survive being stuck with each other? LG
1. One

Blame It on the Door  
  
Chapter One  
  
A fourteen-year-old Lizzie McGuire was in her room on the phone with her best friend, Miranda Sanchez. It was the summer before their freshman year in high school and Miranda was back from her long trip to New Mexico. Up until a few days ago, Lizzie had been dating her other best friend, Gordo, but they had recently broken up.  
  
Yep, that's right. Who would have thought Lizzie and Gordo would end up a couple? No one saw that coming after their kiss in Rome, right? Well, they actually seemed like a perfect couple to everyone around them and people thought they were cute, even if they were only going out for less than a month. No one saw the break up coming, but it happened, and because of the large rumor mill in the town of Hill Ridge, people wanted explanations, and that is something many people didn't understand.  
  
Before Miranda called, Lizzie was in her room, lying on her bed, listening to everything from Beethoven to the Rolling Stones to the Backstreet Boys. . .anything to get her mind off of Gordo. It had been three days now, and what took thirty days to become only took three minutes to get rid of. Still, it was hard. She didn't know what would happen to her and Gordo now. . .would they loose their friendship? Would he move so she could never see him again? It was all possible.  
  
Lizzie was so mad at Gordo that she refused to talk to him. He had tried to call her quite a few times at this point, but she blocked his calls. Lizzie didn't want to talk to anyone. But when Miranda called and she saw her name on the screen, Lizzie knew it would be okay because Miranda would let her blow off some steam or not talk about Gordo.  
  
Miranda had done a good job of not mentioning Gordo or the whole break-up thing until about the middle of the conversation, "So, have you forgiven Gordo yet?" She said, somewhat out of the blue.  
  
Lizzie rolled her eyes. She refused to cry about this because it wasn't worth the pity. She was still mad at Gordo, but crying for him at this point would just make her seem weak. She was, after all, the one who broke up with him in the first place. "No," she said, deciding that talking about it wouldn't hurt anyone, "and at this point, it's not going to happen, either."  
  
"You mean. . . you don't think you and Gordo are going to be a couple ever again?"  
  
Lizzie laughed at the thought, "Miranda, I KNOW we are never going to be a couple. We are history."  
  
"What about your friendship? You've been friends all your life!"   
  
"I don't know," Lizzie said, "I still haven't given that much thought."  
  
Miranda sighed loudly and Lizzie could hear her.   
  
"What?" Lizzie asked.  
  
"Nothing," Miranda said.  
  
"Miranda, is it ever nothing?"  
  
Miranda sighed again, "Okay, fine. You got me. I was just wondering. . .was what Gordo did so terribly bad to begin with?"  
  
"Miranda," Lizzie said, "Yes, it was. He should have called me to tell me he wasn't going to show up. Gordo should not have stood me up."  
  
"Maybe there's a good explanation for all of this."  
  
This time it was Lizzie's turn to sigh loudly, "Miranda, can we change the subject? I'm not changing my mind."  
  
"Fine," Miranda said, "It's none of my business anyway."  
  
"No, it really isn't," Lizzie said, and after a few seconds of silence, Lizzie said, "So, what are you doing this weekend?"  
  
"Oh, well, my uncle and his family are coming in for a few days and I have to entertain my nieces and nephew for the weekend."  
  
"That sucks," Lizzie said, "Do you think they'd give you a break for a few hours so we could go shopping or something?"  
  
"I don't think so," Miranda said, apologetically, "I mean, I tried that last time and the babysitter who replaced me gave them all a cold, so they think I owe them one."  
  
"Oh," Lizzie said, "Well, call me if that changes or if you have a few extra minutes."  
  
"I will," Miranda said, "So, do you have any plans this weekend?"  
  
"No, not really," Lizzie said, "I was going to go to the circus with Gordo but it looks like that's not going to happen. My parents and Matt are going to be away for the weekend, so I have the house all to myself. Oh, I wasn't supposed to tell anyone that, by the way. Oh well, I guess I can trust you not to come and rob my house, right?"  
  
"Of course not," Miranda said, "Listen, I have to go, but I'll talk to you soon, okay?"  
  
"Okay," Lizzie said, somewhat bummed that her friend had to leave her, but she understood.  
  
"Bye."  
  
"Bye."  
  
Lizzie hung up the phone. She looked at her clock and decided maybe it was time to go eat something. She hadn't eaten anything all day and she was getting hungry. She opened her door and headed downstairs, where her mom was stocking toilet paper in the cabinets. She looked behind her and noticed her daughter, "Hey, honey," she said, smiling sympathetically, "How are you?"  
  
"I'm okay," Lizzie said, "You need some help?"  
  
"No," Jo said, holding up a roll of toilet paper, "This is my last one."  
  
"Oh," Lizzie said.  
  
"I was beginning to wonder if you were ever going to come out of your room. I was going to bring you up some lunch after I finished with this, but I guess since you are down here, here's some lunch," she said, pushing a plate with a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on it sliced apples.  
  
"Thanks," Lizzie said, "Hey, is there going to be enough food here this weekend for me or do I need to go to the store?"  
  
"There is plenty of food here," she said, "I just went to the grocery store this morning, so you should be fine."  
  
"Okay, thanks," Lizzie said, taking a bite of her sandwich.   
  
Jo looked at her daughter sympathetically, "Honey, are you sure you don't want to come with us? It will be fun."  
  
"I'm positive," Lizzie said.  
  
"Okay," Jo said, "I trust you."  
  
"Thanks," Lizzie said.  
  
All of the sudden, there was a loud thud coming from upstairs. Jo ran upstairs to see what was going on, leaving Lizzie to be the only one in the kitchen. . .the only one downstairs.  
  
Up until yesterday, Lizzie was supposed to go with the rest of the family for some sports conference thing, but after Sam and Jo talked, they decided, knowing that Lizzie didn't want to go in the first place, that it wouldn't hurt if they left her there for only a couple of nights. They didn't want to make life harder on her than it already was.   
  
Lizzie was finishing up her sandwich and was about to go back upstairs when she heard the doorbell ring.  
  
Realizing that she was the only one downstairs, Lizzie went to answer the door. 


	2. Two

Blame It On The Door

Chapter Two

Lizzie pulled open the door without checking to see who was on the other side. If she had, she was sure she'd have left it shut when she saw Gordo standing nervously on her porch staring at her as if he'd been caught doing something he shouldn't have been.

"What do _you_ want?" Lizzie held back none of her anger from her words and let her voice bite out at Gordo, who actually flinched a little before trying to answer her.

"I. . .I, uh. . .I. . ."

"You what?!"

"I forgot my CD down in the basement when we were down there last and I would kind of like to have it." Gordo found his voice along with the resentment he held for Lizzie. He couldn't figure out why she was being so stupid about everything. It was all so simple, but she wouldn't let him explain why he'd stood her up that day. "Look, I don't want to see you any longer than is needed either, so I'll just go grab my CD and be on my way. Although, I'm sure you really didn't want me to explain anything since you seem to have a problem with letting people explain what happened before you jump to the extreme and cut them out of your life."

Lizzie's face had turned steadily redder with anger as he had talked. "How dare you try to give me a lecture on anything! You're the one without common courtesy, not me. All you had to do was call, but no. . .the life of David Gordon is too busy to call his girlfriend and tell her something's come up. Nope, he leaves the poor girl looking like an idiot sitting all by herself for the whole school to see and know what happened."

"Lizzie, just let me explain. That's not wh. . ."

"Shut up, I told you I don't want to hear any lame excuses. You screwed it all up for us Gordo and now we've got nothing." She turned away from him, unable to look into his eyes knowing she'd only see pain in them, pain she had caused. "Let's just get your CD so you can go."

Gordo quietly followed her into the house and down the stairs leading to the basement that had been converted into an entertainment room years ago. As they walked down the stairs Gordo looked at the pictures covering the walls of him, Miranda, and Lizzie at various ages. He had to ignore the pain that sprang up with each memory along with the thought that he wouldn't get to make more of those memories with the beautiful blonde in front of him. "I think I left it over on the shelf next to the DVD player." Gordo said as he walked across the room and around the couches, chairs and pool table towards the massive entertainment center that lined the back wall. 

"Okay, I'm leaving now. I know when I'm not wanted. I know you Lizzie, and we both know you're being stubborn and ridiculous about all of this, but you're going to have to realize that and apologize before anything will ever change. It must be great never having to admit when you're wrong." Gordo stormed up the stairs, taking them two at a time and all but crashing through the door. 

Lizzie was so busy fighting back the angry tears that were threatening to fall that at first she didn't notice that Gordo was talking to her from the top of the stairs. "Just go, I don't care what you're trying to say, just leave me alone." She was surprised when she watched him come back down the stairs and walk over to her before talking again. When his mouth opened, her heart stopped beating so that she could be sure she wouldn't miss a word. Despite her best to be pissed at him, she was hoping that what he was about to say would make everything all right again. She wanted a reason to believe that everything could go back the way it had been just a few weeks ago before everything got all complicated and mixed up.

"Lizzie, will you listen to me?" She nodded slowly, her heart in her throat. "I can't get the door to open." 

Her mouth dropped open, that was not anything like what she'd been hoping for, in fact as the words sunk in they were the worst possible thing he could have said. "The. . .the door? Are you sure?" Without waiting for an answer she pushed past him and climbed the stairs herself and tried to open the door. It was then that she remembered that the door locked from the outside and that somebody probably locked it not knowing they were downstairs. After finding it locked she started to pound on it and push against it with all her weight, screaming for someone to come and unlock the door. There was no way she was spending anytime with Gordo locked in a room. Who knew how many hours it might be before someone happened to walk by and hear them. As Lizzie was trying to think of ways of getting attention, she heard the second worst thing possible at that very second.

"Was that your parents leaving?" 


	3. Three

Blame It On The Door  
  
Chapter Three  
  
"Yeah," she said, sighing.  
  
"Great," Gordo said, "So, how long will they be gone? Fifteen minutes? An hour?"  
  
Lizzie rolled her eyes, annoyed by the current situation, "They are out for the weekend."  
  
Gordo's eyes widened in hearing this, "What? The whole weekend? As in the next two days?"  
  
"Yeah," Lizzie said, "Where is your cell phone?"  
  
Gordo shrugged, "I left it at home."  
  
Now, it was Lizzie's turn to completely freak out. The basement, despite the TV, excellent sound system and mini snack bar lacked the things they needed to get out, mainly a phone and a computer, but also a blow torch.  
  
Lizzie started heading downstairs, mumbling, "This is unbelievable! Unbelievable! What type of person goes somewhere and doesn't bring his cell phone?"  
  
Lizzie looked behind her and saw Gordo was there, "Gee, Lizzie, I didn't know I would be taken for hostage in your basement! Maybe I should have known better!" he said in his own little fury.  
  
"UNBELIEVABLE!" Lizzie practically screamed, covering her face with her hands.  
  
"Wait, are you saying there is no way we can possibly get out of here until what, Sunday?"  
  
Lizzie glared at Gordo. She was mad because all she wanted to do this weekend was complain about Gordo and now she couldn't because he was right there. "Gordo, is there any chance that your parents are in town and will worry about you not showing up for dinner or a place to sleep? Is there any chance that they would stop and think, 'wow, our son isn't home tonight. Maybe we should go over to the McGuire's and see that there are no parked cars there, and decide to break into this house and check the basement'? Because if not, it looks like we are stuck here."  
  
Gordo rolled his eyes. Sometimes, he couldn't stand Lizzie's sarcasm. For instance, times like these, "Well, excuse me but I wasn't the one who closed the door!" Gordo said.  
  
Lizzie made a face, disgusted at the thought of him possibly suggesting that this was her fault, "Neither did I, Gordo! But I wasn't the one who was irresponsible enough to leave my favorite CD at your house and come back a week later to pick it up. Gordo? YOU HAVE COPIES!" Lizzie shouted, furious with this whole thing.  
  
"FYI, Lizzie, I didn't come earlier because you wouldn't let me come see you earlier this week!"  
  
"UGHH!" Lizzie screamed in her anger, "You are such a jerk, Gordo. I don't know why I ever went out with you!"  
  
"Oh yeah?" Gordo practically cried, "I hate to break it to you, Lizzie. But that doesn't get the door open!"  
  
"Oh, right," Lizzie said, "and your excuses do?"  
  
So, the two former best friends were stuck in the basement and all they could do was argue. Shout after shout and bicker after bicker, no one was willing to give up. Finally, after what seemed like forever, Gordo yelled, "STOP IT! I have a headache, okay? I didn't come here to fight, I didn't come here to scream. All I wanted was my CD," Gordo walked over to sit down on one of the chairs.  
  
Lizzie watched and didn't know what to do. Part of her didn't want to give him the satisfaction of being quiet and not complaining, but she had to agree he had a point. She sighed and walked over to sit on the chair next to his, "What are we going to do about this?" she asked out loud.  
  
Gordo shrugged, "I don't know. But whatever it is you plan on doing, it looks like you are stuck here."  
  
Lizzie rolled her eyes, trying very hard not to say anything negative. This was hard and watching Gordo play with the CD but just turning it on the table was not exactly the kind of entertainment she had hoped for. She grabbed the TV remote from the table and turned the TV to MTV, which was showing music videos She started scanning the channels. Looking for something to watch but not watching anything for more than ten seconds. Gordo tried to ignore this. But the sound was killing him. It would go to loud music, news, talk show, cartoon, news, sitcom rerun and it was like a never ending cycle as Lizzie could not decide, out of the nine-hundred channels that her cable company provide, which on to watch. She would just click the remote and wouldn't stop.  
  
Gordo finally decided to say something, "Lizzie, will you please decide on something to watch or nothing at all. My head is killing me."  
  
Lizzie rolled her eyes, but obeyed his wishes anyway by settling a soap opera, She had a smug smile on her face as she put the remote back on the table and pulled her shoes off to get more comfortable. Lizzie was very aware of Gordo's weaknesses and knew that one of them was Soap Operas. He hated them.  
  
Surprisingly, though, he said nothing as he briefly looked at the screen before grabbing a book on the shelf. He knew what she was up to here. She was trying to annoy him. She didn't know her purpose of doing this, but she was doing quite well.  
  
Lizzie turned up the volume a little; saying nothing while she pretended to be very in tune with the soap opera while she really had no idea what was going on.  
  
Lizzie watched as Gordo stood up from the chair with the book in his hand to move to the corner of the room. She didn't really know why, but she felt somewhat rejected when he did this. But why did she care so much?  
  
Shortly after that, Lizzie had to go to the bathroom. Luckily, there was a bathroom in the basement on the other side, near the storage area. She turned off the TV, deciding that Gordo would probably turn it off anyway and went to the bathroom.  
  
She went to the bathroom and was washing her hands at the sink. After she was finished with that, she decided to just stay in the bathroom for a while. That way, she would get away from Gordo and she, herself, could try to think of ways of how to get out of this mess.  
  
On the other side, where the basement was, Gordo was reading the book when he was trying to ignore the fact that Lizzie had been in the bathroom for a long time. He figured she was just trying to get away from him or avoid him, but after about an hour passed by, he couldn't help but wonder what was going on.  
  
He cautiously got up and walked to the door of the bathroom and held his ear to the wall, to see if he could hear anything going on, like opening or cabinets or drawers. He didn't hear anything and debated about what to do. He knew he should knock, just in case she was dead or something, but felt weird.  
  
I softly knocked at the bathroom door.  
  
"What do you want?" he heard from the other side, in a negative monotonic voice.  
  
"I'm just making sure you are okay," Gordo said, defensively.  
  
"I'm fine," Lizzie said.  
  
Gordo rolled his eyes. He knew that these two days were going to be long and there was no use being optimistic about the current situation, but he also didn't appreciate the way Lizzie was acting.  
  
He went back to sit in the corner and try to read the book, but it was hard, knowing that Lizzie was probably in that bathroom thinking about him. Lizzie came out a few minutes later, took one look at Gordo, rolled her eyes and went back to the TV.  
  
While neither of them wanted to admit it, they knew that it was only a matter of time before they would get bored with what they were doing and start talking to each other to pass time. For right now, though, they wanted to avoid that as much as possible. 


	4. Four

Blame It On The Door

Chapter Four

Gordo sighed and closed the book he'd only been staring at for an hour. "This is just stupid!" He all but yelled as he stood up and walked back towards Lizzie and actual furniture. "We can't spend the whole weekend ignoring each other."

"And why not? I am perfectly happy sitting here and pretending you don't exist." Lizzie said, rolling her eyes and beginning to switch through the channels again just to drive Gordo crazy. "Besides, when did you start recognizing that you aren't the only person alive and that everything doesn't revolve around you?"

"What?! I am not the one being self centered here. Who in this room thinks that just because everything wasn't as perfect as she planned for one freaking date that she needs to destroy her boyfriend's world and never give him a chance to explain what happened?" Gordo fired back, letting the anger that had been building since the break up fuel his temper. "Answer me that, cause I know it's not me. Need a clue for that fake blonde head of yours, here's one - the person's name starts with a Liz and ends with a Zie!"

"I do NOT die my hair! Do you see any dark roots here, Gordork?!" Lizzie stood up in front of him and stuck the top of her head in his face. "You know I have always had blonde hair, ever since you have known me!"

"Yeah, but I also know how much it pisses you off when you get accused of. . ." Gordo made a dramatic gasping sound. "Coloring your hair. You really are so shallow, you know that? And I am really getting tired of pretending not to notice how obvious your whole clumsy ditz act really is."

Lizzie could feel her face getting warmer from the anger rising at his words. "Clumsy ditz act? Yeah Gordo, you figured me out. I really plan every night what door I'm going to get smacked in the face by and how clueless I'm going to be when people talk during the day. How do you catch on so quickly?"

"It's a gift." He responded before moving around her and sitting down on the couch, grabbing the discarded remote from where she'd left it. He thought about finding something to watch that he knew would annoy Lizzie, but instead he turned off the TV and turned to face Lizzie, who was sitting down again. "Look, I'm sorry about the hair comment. . ."

"Do you really think that's what bothered me the most out of all the things you just said?" Lizzie interrupted his apology. "You must really think I am so shallow to think that would hurt me more than being told how fake I am." 

"Well maybe of you didn't spend all your time trying to impress people by acting like someone you're not, I wouldn't have to point it out to you! You know what? I'm not sorry about anything I just said. Not sorry at all." Gordo fired back, getting annoyed at being interrupted. 

"I can't believe I ever thought I liked you! God, you're so. . .so. . ."

"Yeah, you're right. Those are definitely blonde roots. You can't even insult me without confusing yourself and looking like a total idiot." As soon as Gordo finished the thought out loud he felt bad, if only a little. Being mad at her was one thing, but he really didn't think he was this angry with Lizzie, at least not completely.

Lizzie just glared at him, arms crossed and body locked in position. She looked like she was debating between crying or physically attacking Gordo. "Don't talk to me again for the rest of the weekend. You are an asshole David Gordon, and I hate you." Before he could say anything she shoved past him and quickly went back into the bathroom, slamming the door behind her.

Gordo sat down and sighed before grabbing the discarded remote and flipping through a few channels before distractedly turning off the TV to sit quietly and stare at the closed bathroom door. There was a lot on his mind, but first and foremost was the feeling of what he could describe only as hatred for Lizzie and it scared him a little, even though it felt like the right emotion to him at the moment.

Lizzie sat on the top of the closed toilet seat and cried. She wasn't crying for any other reason except being so mad at Gordo that she couldn't handle the emotions inside and needed to let them out. She wasn't going to sit in a bathroom and scream, so crying seemed like her only option. She counted the hours they still had left and wished that she hadn't after reaching forty with more to go. She wanted out of there, out of the bathroom, out of the basement, and at the moment she wanted out of her life. She didn't want to have to deal with Gordo in any way at all, but knew she'd have to eventually. She couldn't stay locked in the bathroom for a whole weekend, but that didn't mean she had to rush out of there now. Lizzie stood up and walked to the opposite wall. She leaned on it and slid down to the floor, giving in to more tears of anger and frustration, burying her face into her arms and resting against her knees. 

"This is definitely going to be a long, long weekend." The both mumbled in unison, but unknowingly.


	5. Five

I'm sorry that this story took so long to update. It's going to be finished, though. It may take decades, but it will be finished.

Blame It On The Door

Chapter Five

Lizzie's stomach grumbled. She'd been in the bathroom for at least an hour and it about five in the afternoon and she hadn't eaten anything since lunch. She sighed. The mini bar was all the way out of the bathroom and within feet of Gordo. There was no way she could grab anything at all without avoiding Gordo. Maybe she would just not eat the entire weekend. She had the bathroom and that had almost everything she needed. There was the toilet, the soap, the shower, and a drawer filled with shower caps, shampoo, and shaving kits from hotels. Gordo may have had all the access to the food and drinks, but at least she would be clean.

Okay, maybe that wasn't the right way to look at everything. After all, she was starving and Gordo would have to eventually go to the bathroom. Lizzie heard stories about situations like this. She had watched sitcoms and read books. They were stuck in a small space together with no contact from the outside world. Sitcoms always had the two people become friends or something, though. She knew that it was impossible that she and Gordo would end the weekend like that.

Her stomach grumbled again. She needed food. She barely had any breakfast that morning, and that sandwich didn't come close to filling her up. She looked at her watch. She'd been stuck with Gordo for about five hours at this point. She slowly started to stand up, but right as she was about to open the door, she heard a knock from the other side. She jumped slightly, as she didn't expect it.

"Lizzie?" she heard Gordo's voice.

"What?" she asked, opening the door, and making it clear that she was annoyed.

"Um," he said, looking down at the floor, "I'm sorry, but I really… really need to go to the bathroom. Is there anyway that you could, like, get out of there for a few minutes."

Lizzie huffed, "Gordo, don't be smart with me! Of course you can use the bathroom!" She stepped out of the bathroom and turned to him, "In fact, if you want to stay in there for a few hours, don't let me stop you!" She walked a few steps and sat on the sofa, waiting for Gordo to close the door behind him. She didn't want him to get the impression that she needed to get out of the bathroom.

When Gordo closed the door, Lizzie immediately got up and headed over to the mini bar, which had a small fridge and a cabinet with snacks. Many a time did Lizzie, Gordo, and Miranda spend hours down there eating popcorn and entertaining themselves with movies and such. Lizzie grabbed the bag of half-eaten popcorn from the cabinet and a Diet Cherry Coke from the fridge and vegged out on the sofa, figuring she had time before Gordo would come out of the bathroom. She opened the drink and reached in for a handful of popcorn, putting the drink on the table beside her. She reached for the remote to the TV and turned it on. Thank God, she thought, for Digital Cable. She turned it to the Game Show network, where it was playing an old episode of the Newlywed Game. She liked this show and found it amusing, so she put down the remote and made herself comfortable.

"Where is the strangest place you and your husband have 'made whoopee?'" the host asked the four brides.

Lizzie was just about to get completely comfortable when she heard, "Oh, come on, now! The Newlywed Game? Lizzie, of the thousand shows you could be watching right now, you are wasting your time on this crap? What a waste of time!" Lizzie looked and found Gordo walk over and sit on the chair near the sofa.

"Well excuse me, but who died and made you King of Television? Besides, I didn't say you had to come out of the bathroom and watch this with me?"

Gordo rolled his eyes and covered his face with the pillow that went with the chair and then threw it on the floor, "Not right now, okay, Lizzie? You can lighten up because I didn't come out here to talk to you or argue with you or even make a peace offering. I came out her because it was really hot in that bathroom.

"Fine," Lizzie said, not even turning to look at him, "just don't talk, okay?"

"Deal," he said, and then commented, "I'm surprised you've had it on one channel for so long, anyway."

Lizzie glared at Gordo, "I thought I asked you not to talk."

"Well, actually, if you want to be technical…"

"Which I don't," Lizzie interrupted, taking another handful of popcorn.

Gordo sighed, "Well, let's say that you do. Anyway, you didn't ask he not to talk, you actually told me not to talk, and since this is a free country, I don't have to listen to you."

"Gordo, were you always this immature or did I just never notice it before."

Gordo made a face and leaned back. He didn't have a comeback for her. He turned his attention to the TV, where they were now asking for the males' responses. In the corner of the screen it announced that Jeopardy was next. He decided that he could stand the next fifteen minutes of this show if it meant a full hour of Jeopardy coming up next. He didn't say another word for the remainer of the show.

After the show ended, Lizzie changed the channel, though. She knew Gordo liked Jeopardy and had also seen the announcement at the corner of the screen. Since she wasn't in the mood to make Gordo's day and did, after all, have total control of the remote, she changed the channel to The Love Stories Movie Channel, which was playing, to Lizzie's amusement, Bridget Jones' Diary. She put down the remote with a smug look on her face, as she didn't take her eyes off the screen. The best part about it was that the movie was just starting, so she knew she had a good two more hours of this torture if she so chose.

Gordo, who was all ready for Jeopardy practically jumped when the screen went from showing the contestants to the opening credits of a movie he didn't particularly care for. He glared at Lizzie, who wore a smug smile upon her face and didn't even glance at him. He knew he had been beaten, though, as this wasn't his house and Lizzie had control of the remote.

He thought he could hear the phone ringing from upstairs, and it drove him crazy. He knew that this weekend was hopeless and that after this weekend, if he ever saw Lizzie again, it would probably be too soon. He got up from his seat and slammed the door behind him in the bathroom. The hellish temperature in the bathroom was worth it if it meant he didn't have to look at Lizzie. He furiously started to unbutton his shirt and take it off and then his pants and kicked them to the other side of the bathroom and then sat on the toilet seat to take off his socks. He stood up, only wearing boxers, trying to deal with the heat. It seemed even hotter than before.

Not only was this situation impossible to deal with, but he also realized that he was stuck with a devil…the devil that controlled not only the remote control of the TV, but also the temperature of the whole basement…including the bathroom.

This was no stupid or petty argument anymore…this had become war.


	6. Six

Blame It On The Door

Chapter Six

Lizzie was half way through the movie when she suddenly felt the urge to pee. "I knew I shouldn't have had that third soda," She said to herself as she gazed at the closed bathroom door and wondered what to do. After another ten minutes passed, there was no avoiding it anymore, she really had to get in that bathroom, even if it meant talking to that complete jerk again.

Lizzie stood up and walked heavily to the door, growing more agitated with each step. She pounded on the door and demanded to be let in, but heard no response from Gordo at all. "Gordo," She whined, "I really need to go to the bathroom! Get out or get out of the way, I really don't care at this point."

In her frustration at having to do the pee dance outside of a perfectly good bathroom, Lizzie grabbed hold of the handle and turned it back and forth to make as much noise as possible. With her other hand, she began pounding away again and nearly cried with relief when the door opened a little. "Oh thank God!"

Without really caring about anything other than getting to the toilet, Lizzie pushed the door the rest of the way open and barged into the small, nearly baking hot, bathroom. She had just gotten herself unbuttoned and positioned to finally find relief for her aching bladder, when she looked over to find Gordo asleep against the opposite wall.

For a brief moment, she found herself lost in the innocent look on his face, remembering all the mornings growing up when she would stare at him. That moment was shattered when her gaze moved from his face, down his neck, to his bare chest and arms. She gasped when she realized he was laying there in only his boxers, propped against the wall, legs stretched out and offering no protection for her eyes.

"I am so glad we got you the ones with a button." Lizzie felt a pang of regret as she suddenly remembered how much she and Miranda had laughed when picking out the boxers Gordo was wearing for his birthday the previous year.

XxFlashbackxX

"Are you sure it's not weird for his two girl best friends to get him. . .boxers. Isn't that a little personal or something?"

"Lizzie, there is no way we are not getting these for him. It is too funny, you do get it right?" Miranda asked, giving her sometimes clueless friend a questioning look. "Because, I'll explain the joke to you if you want."

"I'm not that stupid, Randa. Of course I get what it means." Lizzie felt a little offended that her friend would think she was that completely clueless about even the most obvious things. "It's an M&M and he's saying that the M is for muscle."

"And why are these so complete perfect and so incredibly funny for Gordo?"

"BecauseGordo doesn't have a single muscle on his entire freaking body!" Both had dissolved quickly into more laughter.

XxEnd FlashbackxX

"I definitely got that wrong, when did Gordo start looking like this?" Lizzie wondered out loud, openly staring at the nearly naked Gordo laid out in front of her. "Who knew a t-shirt could make that look so scrawny."

Something in Lizzie's mind jarred her back to consciousness and demanded to know why she would bother staring at someone who was just a complete jerk. Finally getting around to her reason for barging in to begin with, Lizzie finished what she needed to do, washed her hands, and quietly slipped back out of the bathroom, firmly shutting the door behind her.

Still in somewhat of a daze, she walked over to the thermostat and turned down the heat in the bathroom from ninety-five to a more comfortable seventy-five. She felt bad having made it so hot in the room for him, but wondered just how much when she kept having images of his slightly defined arms and chest popping into her mind.

"Well, one thing's for sure, McGuire, he'll have an easier time convincing you to listen if he comes out of that bathroom without his shirt on." She made the best appalled face she could muster at herself, before trying valiantly to find something distracting on the television.

Unfortunately she was finding that to be impossible.


	7. Seven

What can I say? I'm the secret creature. I'm cool. I'm inconsistent. I'm secret.

Chapter Seven

An hour later, Gordo came out of the bathroom clothed and yawning. The TV was off and Lizzie was sitting on the couch, munching on some Wheat Thins as she appeared to be reading a book. Gordo was dying to say something like, "Gee, Lizzie, I didn't know you read BOOKS," but then he remembered that he celebrated his tenth birthday almost five years ago. Instead, he asked, "what are you reading?"

"A book," Lizzie said, without looking up.

Gordo rolled his eyes, "Yeah, well, what book?"

Lizzie moved a little so he could see the cover. It read, "The Viscount Who Loved Me," and had a picture of a woman in the arms of a man with no shirt on and they were leaning against a tree. Since when did Lizzie start reading romance novels? Weren't those supposed to be, like, porn without the pictures?

A minute later, Lizzie looked up and said tiredly, "here, Gordo, I like to be quiet when I read, so I found another book. Lizzie handed him a book titled, "The Duke and I." Instead of rolling his eyes and scoffing, to Lizzie's surprise, he actually took the book. Like Lizzie's, it had a similar cover, although this time, the couple was standing on a balcony as they gazed maddeningly into each others eyes and held each other.

After Gordo read the back cover and examined the front cover, Gordo put it back next to Lizzie and sighed as he walked around the room. He looked through the multitudes of CDs that were there and tried not to appear bored. It was still hot, but it didn't seem as hot as it was before. Lizzie must have decided that it was too hot.

If Gordo were in his own home, at this moment, he'd probably be watching some black and white movie that he picked out. And yes, he decided at that moment, that if he were in his own home he would watch the commercials and not change the damn channels so much.

Gordo looked over at Lizzie as she looked perfectly content reading her porn novel. Okay, Gordo relented it wasn't completely porn. There was some plot and consistency in those novels, but still…there wasn't much one could gain from reading chick lit. Gordo only knew this because recently, when his mom and him went on a trip to visit his aunt, she had one of those novels on CD, so she listened to it while he listened to his CD player. Unfortunately, Gordo's batteries died, so he was forced to listen to the book. It wasn't something he would ever do again, or ever admit to listening to out loud, but it wasn't horrible.

After going through the CDs a few times, Gordo headed for the mini bar and grabbed a Dr. Pepper. He looked at his watch. It was after nine o' clock. Maybe they could go to bed soon. Gordo wasn't terribly tired, but it would be an excuse to wrap things up for the day and pretend one was unconscious. It suddenly occurred to him that he would be sleeping in the same room as Lizzie. It dawned on him that other than the floor, the couch was the only place that on could practically sleep. Yeah, he'd get the floor. If Lizzie liked him, she might offer him the couch, but Lizzie hated him. Sure, there was always the bathroom, but if Lizzie needed the bathroom, it would be a problem. Besides, it wasn't as if the bathroom was exactly "practical," as it was actually really cramped, but it was more private than anything.

Gordo sighed again. It was only a little after nine. There was no way either of them would get to sleep for at least another three hours. They were teenagers. They had needs. For weekends and summer, teenagers NEEDED to go to sleep after midnight and wake up anywhere from eight to twelve hours later.

Only a few yards away, Lizzie sat on the couch and read. She could pay attention to the book fine…until Gordo sighed five billion times. Okay, yeah, he was bored, and yeah, Lizzie wasn't really being Ms. Agreeable, but loud sighs distracted Lizzie. Gordo was obviously bored and Lizzie could be a little nicer and more…well, less bitchy. Lizzie cleared her throat, marked her chapter, and looked up at Gordo, "Are you okay over there, Gordo?"

Gordo paused for a minute and turned to look at her, a little surprised that she cared, "Yeah," he answered simply, "I'm fine."

"Okay," Lizzie said, although she could tell that something was bothering Gordo. She could always tell when Gordo was perplexed over something. Of course, it didn't take a genius to realize that both of them were uncomfortable with this whole situation and nothing could be done about that. Not really.

Lizzie tried to turn her attention back to the novel, but couldn't seem to hold the same concentration. Something inside of Lizzie told her that Gordo and her needed to have a conversation. They'd been friends for years and something like this should not ruin their friendship. That's what something inside of her told her, anyway. Right now, she just wanted to relish hating Gordo, but if they were going to be stuck there for two nights, maybe she really should try to discuss the situation…or not. She'd have to sleep on it. Speaking of sleep, she wondered about how they were going to do that. There was no doubt in her mind that she was going to take the couch, but what about Gordo? The floor of the basement, although carpeted, really freaked Lizzie out. Lizzie had seen a few roaches and spider crickets down here in her time and the idea of them crawling on anyone—even Gordo—disgusted her.

Maybe he would prefer a chair…

Lizzie looked over at Gordo again and he still looked bored. Lizzie hated when people were bored in her company. Maybe she should turn the TV back on or something. That's exactly what she did. She turned it on and settled on some VH1 countdown, vowing to herself that no matter what, she would keep it on this channel.

Sure enough, a few minutes later, Gordo was sitting at the chair adjacent to the couch, watching TV with her. Silently, for the next few hours, they watched TV. Eventually, Lizzie fell asleep and Gordo, a little tired himself, turned off the TV and found a spot on the floor and it wasn't too long before he was asleep himself.

In his mind, Gordo wanted to believe that the next day could only be better, but it didn't take a ninny to decide that the next day was undecided.


End file.
